Crane



C. K. PEVEAR Sept. 13, 1932.

CRANE Filed Feb. 9, 1928 a1 WW2;

& W

Fig. 3.

Patented Sept. 13, 1932 UNITE s ara's on-Asia KEITH PEVEARKGFINEW ZYORIL'W. Y.

Application filed February 9,1528. seria uofas'aets.

v This invention; relates to traveling cranes of the" type in which a hoisting hook is'sus pended from a carriage running on overhead 1 tracks. I w 5 'Heretofore, it has been the practice in using large cranes to provide accommodations for the operator in a cab on' the carriage'and" to lead the controls/to that point'so that the transverse movement of the carriage and the vertical movement of the hoisting hook have been controlled from-the overhead cab. In using such a crane,the operator necessari- 1y confined at all times to this caband' it' is necessary to providelasecond operator to attend to the securing of the load to the hoisting hook and the disengagement oft-he load when it hasbeenv carriedto its destination.

The vertical movement of the' hook and the transverse movement or the "carriage are brought about by the operatorin theoverhead cab in response tosignals given him by the operator on the floor who attends to the hoisting hook. V I

The present invention, in one: aspect," consists in a traveling crane in which the'controlling devices are located adjacent to'the hoisting hook and accommodation foran operator is provided'at thatpoint. This not only eliminates the necessity .of :a crew of two operators for the crane but increases its capacityand adapts it 'for use in new and advantageous ways. "For example, sincexthe path and'location of thehoisting hook are the main considerations'in'the operation of the crane, it will be. apparent that an operator riding upon the hook andQhaving the controls at his command will be able to direct the movements of the'ihook more accurately and more rapidlythan'when'these are determined by signals relayed to anioperatorin an overhead cab.

In a crane constructed in accordance with my invention, I preferablyprovide a small cab located just above the hook' and containingthe controls and accommodationfor the operator. 'He is thus enabled to step out'of his cab to place the tackle or slingson the load to belifted. When he has secured his load, he ste'psinto'his cab and rides with the load to its destination. This may beon top :o'fa high pile whereitwould be Crimean for aman to climb. SiInilarly,- with a crane constructed in accordance with my invention, it is possible to dig out a pile of boxes twenty orthirty feet high surroundedentirely by other 'mate'ri'al, in which case the hoisting hook would be operating in a space not more than four feet square and or: thirty feet deep; V

The capacity eta-warehouse equipped with such a crane is largely increased as compared with that served bycranes as heretofore constructed, in that the materialm'ay be piled as'highas the space under the crane willpermit without thene'cessity of allowing space for aisles.- Sucha crane,jmoreover, may be used for hoisting material from a warehouse through hatehwa s' in floors above, a. properha'ps twenty cedure which has not heretofore" beenpractical. J

A feature of construction useful in connectionwith the crane of my invention consists in aswivel hoisting hook se'c'u'red to a transversely eittending plate located in position where-it may" be conveniently turned by the operator in the cab. This plate is herein shown as forming a part of the cab Jfioor where the operator may turn it with his feet and so swing his load'into the position required for v landing while in transit.

These and other features of the invention will be best'un derstood and appreciated from the following description ofa preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which I Fig. ljis a view in elevation ofthe crane, sectionsbeing broken out of the overhead beam; j

Fig. 2 is "a viewin 'front elevation one larger scale of the cab and hoisting hook and Fig; 3- is a similar vieWin side elevation;

The cranecompris'es an overhead'beam 10, having-flanged rollers12 at either end which run on tracks '13, supported by I-beams 14: which are incorporated in the permanent structure of the walls of the Warehouse served by the crane. The beam 10 comprises two sections, separated by a substantial space, and has upon its upper surface tracks 16 upon 38 for hoisting the cab and the hook.

which is mounted, for movement longitudinally of the beam, the carriage 18. The,

cross girts 34. The upper cross girts 32 carry--- a pair of sheaves 36, over which run the ca elles 1e lower cross girts 34 carry a transverse bar 40, having a central opening for the shank of the hook 42 which is supported thereon by a thrust washer 46 and nut 47, so that it may swivel freely with its load. Secured to the upper end of the shank of the hook 42 is a flat plate 48, perforated for lightness and adapted to be turned by the operator to swing the hook and its load into any desired angular position. The perforations through the plate 48 also serve the purpose of affording the operator a'better vision of and for operating the hook 42.

The body of the cab, wherein is the operators station, is contained between the side beams and is provided with a seat 50 for the operator and with a step 52 by which he may conveniently enter and leave the cab. The bottom of the cab is open above the plate 48, thus permitting the operator to reach the plate with his feet when he desires to swing the hook in positioning it for a load.

It will be understood that the overhead beam 10 is provided with a motor, not shown, for driving the rollers 12 to cause the crane to travel bodily upon the tracks 13. The carriage 18, as already noted, is provided with a motor for driving the rollers 20 to cause the carriage to move longitudinally upon the overhead beam 10 and with a second motor for hoisting or lowering the cab. Electric controlling devices for all three of these motors are located in the cab in convenient reach of the operator, so that without leaving his seat he may cause the overhead beam to travel from one end of the warehouse tov the other, the carriage to travel from one end of the beam 10 to the other and the cab to move vertically from its highest position adjacent to 1 the carriage, as shown in Fig. 1, to the floor of the warehouse. V I

The construction of these controlling devices is not important as the requirements are served by any commercial form of apparatus.

.' As herein shown, a controller 60, having an operating handle 62, is located at the right hand of the operator and immediately in front of him. This controller is wired to the hoistlng motor in the carriage 18 and thus governs the vertical movement of the cab. A

controller 64, having an operating handle 66, is located also at the right hand of the operator and above the controller but within convenient reach. This is wired to the traction motor in the bridge beam 10 and, by manipulat-ing the handle 66, this may be set in motion in either direction or brought to rest, as'desired. A controller 68, having an operating handle 70, also disposed within convenient reach of the operator, is located adjacentto the controller 64 and is wired to the tract-ion motor of the carriage 18, serving to control that motor in the movement of the carriage upon the bridge beam 10. The leads from all the controllers are collected and carried out from the cab through the flexible conduit 72 and extend ina flexible cable 74 to a hoisting drum 7 6 in the carriage 18. 'The flexible cable 74 is wound upon this drum simultaneously as the cab is elevated and paid out as the cab is lowered, and electrical connections are maintained at all times between the controllers and their respective motors.

In addition to providing means by which the operator may ride in a position adjacent to the hoisting hook, the cab serves also to protect the operator as the cab is raised and lowered and swung in various directions from being brought into contact with the walls of the warehouse or with piles of material It will also be noted, as illustrated in Flg. 1, that the cab is of such width that it may pass between the two girders of the beam 10.

. When the operator has brought the cab to he load he desires to hoist, he steps out of it and'passes the slings or'tackle about the load. He then resumes his seatin the cab and, by manipulating the controllers, elevates himself with the load and moves transversely to the desired destination. In landin the load, he may turn the plate 48 to secure the desired angular position thereof. When the load is landed, he leaves the cab, removes the slings or tackle from the load and hangs them upon the small hooks 90 provided on the walls of the cab for that purpose.

A landing stage is shown in Fig. 1, by which the operator may leave the cab of the crane after the latter has been brought to an out-of-theway position in the warehouses- Reference is made herein to a hoisting hook but it will be understood that an eye, stud or any member to which hoisting slings or tackle may bev secured would serve as well and is within the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and-desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a traveling crane,.a carriage movable upon overhead tracks, an operators cab suspended on cables from the carriage, power means for driving the carriage on its tracks: and for elevating the cab by said cables, means including controls in the cab and flexible cable connections to the carriage for controlling the power means, a load-supporting element swivelled to and depending from the bottom of the cab, a plate located in the 1 bottom of the cab in position to be engaged 5 by the operators feet, and means connecting the element and plate whereby the'operator may swivel the element.

2. A traveling crane operators cab adapted to be suspended on cables from the crane car- 19 riage and comprising a pair of spaced side beams providing cab space for the operator therebetween, means connecting the top ends of the beams and providing an anchoring connection for said cables, means connecting the bottom ends of the beams, a load-supporting element hung from the bottom of said last-named means in a position beneath the operators station, and crane-controlling means within the cab.

3. In a traveling crane having a carriage movable upon overhead tracks and hoisting cables connected thereto, a narrow and compact operators cab adapted to be suspended on said cables, means within the cab for controlling the raising and lowering thereof, a rotatable hoisting hook suspended beneath the cab, and a plate connected to the hook and accessible to the operator through the floor of the cab, whereby the cab with its hook is adapted to be lowered into deep confined spaces and engage and elevate loads therefrom.

4. In a traveling crane, a carriage movable upon overhead tracks, an operators cab suspended on cables from the carriage, power means for driving the carriage on its tracks transverse members connecting the side beams above and below the operators staand for elevating the cab by said cables, means I 7' including controls in the cab and flexible cable connections to the carriage for controlling the power means, a load-supporting element hung from the bottom of the cab, and a perforated plate in the bottom of the cab and connected to said element whereby the operator can manipulate the element with his feet, the perforations in the plate permitting the operator a view of said element.

5. In a traveling crane a carriage movable upon overhead tracks, an operators cab suspended on cables from the carriage and comprising spaced vertical side beams providing cab space for the operator therebetween and transverse members connecting the side beams above and below the operators station, a hoisting hook rotatably supported by and beneath the lowermost transverse mem ber substantially in vertical alignment with said cables, and operating means secured to the hook and located above said transverse member within reach of the operator in the cab.

6. In a traveling crane a carriage movable upon overhead tracks, an operators cab suspended on cables from the carriage and comprising spaced vertical side beams providing 65 cab space for the operator therebetween and 

